A height experience

Last October 1st was on the summit of Kilimanjaro. Why Climb Mountains? That's the question that those who have never done this often do. Because in the mountains we live with total intensity and allow us to know ourselves better. Be aware of our limits, strengths, weaknesses... be aware of our temporality and the things that are really important in life. Like so many other things, it's kind of hard to understand if you haven't experienced by yourself.

I've been climbing mountains intensely for over 20 years. I am part of the AEGM (Spanish Association of Mountain Guides). I have had the opportunity to make multiple ascents around the world, which has allowed me to know, not only magical places but also incredible people and different cultures that have enriched me enormously on a personal level. Many of the values that are present in the mountain coincide with those of the firm: diversity (being able to integrate with people from different cultures), independence (it is important to mark your own path and make the right decisions; listen to others, but to have its own criterion), technical excellence (knowing how to move in different types of terrain with fluency in order to overcome the difficulties: ice/mixed/rock), Integrity (Ethics: More important than going up at all costs is how we climbed. In the mountains of 8000 meters we see it clearly in the employment or not of artificial oxygen... Therefore, the mountain is a great school to be trained in many of the values and principles that we will have to apply in our professional life if we want to be at the first level. Among other mountain ranges outside our borders I have been in the Alps (Italy, France and Switzerland), Caucasus (Russia), Andes (Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina), Rockies (Canada) and in the Himalayas (Nepal). As far as mountains are concerned, I have been among others in the Huayna Potosí, Cotopaxi, Chimborazo, Aconcagua, Mont Blanc, Matterhorn, Kilimanjaro, Ama Dablam, Everest, Elbrus, etc. In Spain I have moved through all mountain systems although I have special predilection for the Picos de Europa. In the mountains never end the adventures and personal challenges, because there are always mountains to climb or mountains that we want to ascend by different routes or in winter/summer. Some of the many mountains that are on my list of earrings would be, for example, the Cho Oyu (Himalaya), the Denali (Alaska) or the Ojos del Salado (Chile). The summit and

The summit itself is never the most important part of an expedition; Contrary to what you might think is on the way to the summit where you accumulate the experiences and experience that then persist in your interior. As in life, it is usually in the "failures" where one learns and savors the essence of climbing mountains; That component of adventure and uncertainty, of knowing that getting to the top is sometimes very difficult from the statistical point of view it has a great deal of charm for those who like to climb mountains.

Finally, a phrase by Alexei Bolotov (already deceased Russian mountaineer) that sums up well what we feel those who love the mountains: "The mountains themselves do not mean anything, they are just rocks and ice. Who gives them life is the human being by raising them and talking about them; By living them it gives them entity. I could not say that mountaineering itself is a sport, because here there are no better or worse. This is not the Olympic Games where one is faster for three seconds or because it has jumped two centimeters more. Here the important thing is for everyone to be aware of the limits of their body. Besides, the fame you get with the sport, for the mountaineer means nothing. That which they call ' glory ' for the mountaineer does not exist. This isn't football or tennis. He doesn't give money. That's why we don't go up there looking for success, we go because that's what gives us life. "